As exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,682, a machine of the type noted above employs a wheel assembly comprising a pair of spider wheels spaced from each other and rotatable about a horizontal axis, pairs of fixed jaw members spaced peripherally about one such wheel, pairs of movable jaw members spaced peripherally about the other wheel, and means including a cam and a follower for imparting a reciprocating movement to the movable jaw members relative to the fixed jaw members so as to stretch a carrier stock drawn onto the wheel assembly before the carrier stock is applied to two rows of the containers.
A carrier stock of the type noted above is disclosed in a copending, commonly owned United States patent application filed on Apr. 20, 1994, under Ser. No. 08/230,308.
A need has arisen, to which this invention is addressed, to adapt a machine of the type noted above so that the machine can apply a carrier stock of the type noted above to rows of containers, such as beverage bottles or beverage cans.